THIS year's Newport to Bermuda Race will be the biggest ever. This despite fears that a struggling US economy and the fallout from the September 11 terrorist attacks would put a big dent into the number of yachts taking part in the biennial race.

And the new Commodore of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Les Crane, said this week: "We also have six local entries which is great to see. That is a good turnout for Bermuda."

The record number of yachts entered for the "Thrash to the Onion Patch" was 181. As of this week there were 182 boats entered and there will possibly be more by the time the April 1 deadline comes. And then after that boats can still enter with a $500 penalty and as race spokesman Talbot Wilson said: "That frankly is not much for some of these people. I expect we will get between 190 to 200 boats - it is a big race. We have never seen these numbers before."

And the fact that there will be a record number of boats on the start line on June 14 in Newport is even more incredible considering the tragedy of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington DC.

Crane, who only became Commodore of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club last Friday, said: "We were apprehensive because of everything that had gone on."

Wilson added: "We didn't know what the impact would be from September 11. We had two choices. One would be to withdraw and the other was to go on. I feel that Americans don't want to be affected by that (September 11). They will go out of their way to prove that it is not going to hurt their lives."

However Wilson and the Race Committee did have concerns right after September 11. He said: "A big boat series in San Francisco was cancelled and other events were cancelled. You look down the road and say to yourself 'how long is this going to go on?' But we stuck with it."

And to a large degree the increase in numbers is down to the work of the Race Committee and a number of volunteers - generally a better marketing campaign for the historic race.

He said: "There has been a considerable push. It has been an ongoing process with a lot of people involved with it - a lot of volunteers contacting friends with boats. We also had a good mail campaign and produced a very nice looking race book as well."

Commodore Crane said: "We had a committee put together to draw attention to the race. The committee did a great job. It really is showing some fruit now. We also used word of mouth and we listened to people - we asked them what they would like to see."

Subsequently there is now a new trophy for a new racing class.

Crane said: "It is a professional racing class. The technical definition is of the certain style of boat and style of crew."

As far as the downturn in the US economy, Crane said: "There was that aspect but I feel that sometimes people are looking for diversions."

There will also be a wide variety of boats lining up at the start line. Crane explained: "There are some very expensive programmes and some inexpensive programmes. There is quite a wide variety. We are looking at everything from the smaller boats to the big maxis. And we will have a number of boats we have never seen before." One boat will be the renown maxi Pyewacket (Roy Disney's yacht) out of California in the Racing Division which is expected to challenge the race holder (line honours) Boomerang. There could be four or five maxis in the Racing Division and two in the Cruising Division.

And these maxis are bigger and faster than those of a decade ago. Crane said: "The maxis being built today are faster. The speed limit has been raised. If the wind conditions are right we would expect to see the record time broken - the record of first to finish. The corrected time would be another matter."

Bermuda can also expect a financial windfall from the race.

Wilson said: "I figure there will be an average of 12 people on a boat and then there are the people who come down to Bermuda to meet them. I wouldn't be surprised if there are 5,000 people in all who come to Bermuda so it will be good for the island."

The Bermuda entries so far are Paul Hubbard and his Bermuda Oyster (an Oyster 435); Christopher Sharples in his boat Noonmart VI which is a Swan 56; Dr. Colin Couper in his Swan 46 yacht Babe; Dr. Richard Schulman in his Swan 51 Temptress which will also have Newport to Bermuda veteran sailor Kirk Cooper aboard; Dr. Steve Sherwin in his Custom 44 yacht Borderlaw; and Robert Mulderig in his Farr 72 Starr Trail.

For Crane, who has been taking part in the Newport to Bermuda Race for about 10 years, it will be a time on dry land for him. He said: "I would love to sail it again of course but being Commodore I will be very busy! It comes with the job"

The expanded docking facilities at the RBYC, which was used in the 2000 race, is also "a great help", said Crane.

"Before with the old smaller docking facilities we would have a little less than half the boats which would also be rafted. In 2000 we had two thirds of the boat at the club. This year we will have more room for them. That means we will have all the players there and it makes for a great post race party."

Previous Lighthouse Trophy winners are Kodiak and Restless who will be challenged by an armada of newcomers in the IMS Cruiser/Racer Division.

According to race participation chairman John Osmond: "The 2002 race seems to be attracting an interesting fleet. There are a large number of new skippers and boats to the IMS C/R class."

The Newport to Bermuda Race is the premier ocean racing event on the East Coast for IMS sailing yachts.

The race is sponsored jointly by the Cruising Club of America (CCA) and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC). A list of past winners reads like the Who's Who of ocean racing yachts.

The race starts in Newport, Rhode Island at the mouth of Narragansett Bay and finishes at St. David's Head, on the southeastern tip of Bermuda, crossing the Gulf Stream - what organisers call "that an unpredictable, meandering river in the Atlantic that separates temperate waters from tropical waters, continental weather from mid-Atlantic weather and the men from the boys".

The elapsed time record is 57 hours and change set by George Coumantaros' Boomerang in 1996, averaging just over 11 knots.

The race has grown from its inception in 1906 when there were only three starters on the line. By 1907 there were 12 starters and the race finally broke the 100 mark in 1958.

Besides the actual race there is also the Onion Patch series of which 60 of the boats are expected to take part.

The Series consists of five races:

Races 1 & 2: June 8-9, New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta.

Race 3: June 14, the Newport to Bermuda Race 2002.

Races 4 & 5: June 21, the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Anniversary Regatta.

The Onion Patch Trophy, presented through a Deed of Gift by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club in 1962, is an international trophy competed for by three-boat teams representing nations, yacht clubs, or other yachting organisations.

Team scores are based on cumulative points for the Series based on weighted scores for inshore and offshore courses.

The Henry B. du Pont Memorial Trophy, presented in 1972 in memory of Commodore Henry B. duPont of the CCA, is awarded to the best scoring individual yacht in the combined races of the Onion Patch Series based on weighted scores for inshore and offshore courses.

The Catherine Hollis Memorial Trophy, first presented in 2000 in memory of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club's Secretary's wife, is for the yacht placing first on corrected time in the Bermuda Race that is also a competitor in the Onion Patch Series.

Beginning in 2000 the Onion Patch Series has also been raced as the IMS North American Championship.

The winner of the Henry B. duPont Memorial Trophy will be named the 2002 IMS North American Champion.